The National Party has done it. Judith Collins has done it. The Greens have made it pretty clear how they’re going to vote. Of course, I’m talking about the Cannabis referendum. Unfortunately though Jacinda Ardern still hasn’t let us know which way she’s voting:
Jacinda Ardern has explained why she won’t reveal how she’s voting in the cannabis referendum, but has been happy to talk about her position on euthanasia.
Ardern has never said whether she’s in favour of legalising recreational use of cannabis, but will vote ‘yes’ to make ACT leader David Seymour’s End of Life Choice Bill the law.
The difference in her approach is down to how the two controversial topics ended up on the ballot in the first place.
“For euthanasia, it was never intended that that Bill in Parliament would necessarily become a referendum,” she told The AM Show on Tuesday.
“We were all voting on the actual Bill itself and whether or not that would become law. I was very open then about my voting in Parliament. It was then decided that it would become a referendum.”
[…]”On the issue of marijuana, that is a conscience vote for the Labour Party… we do not have a position as a whole party,” said Ardern. “My view therefore would not be the Labour Party view.
“Equally, I don’t think it’s my job therefore to go out and advocate any one side because my party does not have a position on it. The view of the public around me is equivalent therefore to mine.”
And why doesn’t the Labour Party have a position on it? National does. The Greens do.
Ardern fears if she made her vote public, she’d be “asked to argue why”.
Oh my goodness. The prime minister of the country having to justify a position. What’s next? Having to make decisions without delegating to “experts”?
“I feel like because we’re running a Government referendum here, that it’s my job to ensure the public have confidence in the information that’s being provided and confidence that we’ll deliver the outcome.”
And I can tell you she’s doing a pretty poor job of even that. Of course her apologists on social media are saying she doesn’t have to say anything. Well that’s all fine and good but it’s causing a lot of frustration on the “yes” side.
It’s pretty clear, at least in my opinion, that Labour and Jacinda will most likely be voting yes. Now imagine having an argument and you say to a friend “you agree with me don’t you?” and they just say “I don’t know”. The other side would laugh in your face and say you can’t even get your friends to agree with you. Extremely frustrating to say the least.
This is about more than the Cannabis referendum. It is about leadership. If Jacinda can’t show leadership here how can she show leadership in other areas? Unless of course, it involves giving hugs and telling everyone they have to stay inside.
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